OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Financial impairments in the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry in
2013 slid to their lowest level since 2007, amounting to little more
than half of both the historical average and the 2012 impairment count.
The 14 known P/C impairments in 2013 compared with 25 in 2012, with most
of the impaired companies hurt by several years of volatile and
generally unprofitable underwriting results, even as the industry
overall turned a corner in 2013, posting its first underwriting profit
since 2009. Risk retention groups (RRGs) operating in a variety of
fields represented half of the 2013 impairments. This report, “P/C
Impairments Dropped Sharply in 2013, but Alternative Risk Players
Faltered,” covers the 45-year period from 1969 through 2013, and is the
centerpiece of the latest Best’s Journal, a biweekly publication
that presents A.M. Best’s original research, analysis and
commentary on the global insurance industry.

Other highlights in this issue of Best’s Journal include as
follows:

Employer Migration to Self-Insured Health Plans Bodes Favorable for
Stop-Loss Market: Renewed interest in the stop-loss market is
expected to continue as the product grows more attractive to employers
with an appetite for risk on employee health care costs, according to
a Best’s Special Report, asstop-loss plans are not
subject to the health insurance industry fee component of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act or its minimum loss ratio
requirements.

Kazakhstan’s Growth Prospects Remain Good, But Not Without
Challenges: This Best’s Special Report states that
Kazakhstan’s insurance sector has maintained steady growth
post-financial crisis; however, recent regulatory shifts present
challenges, particularly in the reinsurance and life segments.

Best’s Journal is available exclusively as part of a subscription
to the Best’s Insurance News & Analysis service, and is
delivered every two weeks as a bound, printed publication and in digital
format via the Best’s Insurance News & Analysis website. Each
issue is an installment in a cumulative business resource that provides
insight from A.M. Best’s perspective as a credit rating agency, data
provider and news publisher with a unique focus on the insurance
industry.